Photo TR: Canobie Coaster's World Adventures

[grsupercity]

They should move the S&S tower by Steel Hawg. Use that spot plus growlers for a waterpark expansion

[JJLehto]

Glad to hear!

I'll be stopping here later on my road trip.

 

I won't go any further than this....let's just say not surprised the park and people really don't seem to follow guidelines, but as you point out one can still do so on their own. The impact is lessened when others don't, but tis a risk you take. I will likely still go. Honestly, glad to hear people were respectful. That's all I ask. You do you, I'll leave ya be but leave me be. Glad that was the case!

 

I always heard of Cornball as an under the radar gem, glad it still holds up! I also hear near universally Lost Coaster is fun as hell despite, or due to?, its being a hot mess.

 

Great photos btw! The location and scenery has a real charm to it.

[Canobie Coaster]

They should move the S&S tower by Steel Hawg. Use that spot plus growlers for a waterpark expansion

 

The location gives great views of the water since it's right on the edge. It's just annoying getting back there, so I am torn.

 

Glad to hear!

I'll be stopping here later on my road trip.

 

I won't go any further than this....let's just say not surprised the park and people really don't seem to follow guidelines, but as you point out one can still do so on their own. The impact is lessened when others don't, but tis a risk you take. I will likely still go. Honestly, glad to hear people were respectful. That's all I ask. You do you, I'll leave ya be but leave me be. Glad that was the case!

 

I always heard of Cornball as an under the radar gem, glad it still holds up! I also hear near universally Lost Coaster is fun as hell despite, or due to?, its being a hot mess.

 

Great photos btw! The location and scenery has a real charm to it.

 

Thanks! Lost Coaster is definitely special because of how wrong it is.

[mikeykaise]

The last time I wast at Indiana Beach I was a kid and my family stayed in a cabin and that was back when Lost Coaster was still a dark ride and the curved drop over water was more towards the end. I probably rode that thing like 20 or 30 times that week we were there. I loved that thing and haven't rode it since the change.

[grsupercity]

They should move the S&S tower by Steel Hawg. Use that spot plus growlers for a waterpark expansion

 

The location gives great views of the water since it's right on the edge. It's just annoying getting back there, so I am torn.

 

Glad to hear!

I'll be stopping here later on my road trip.

 

I won't go any further than this....let's just say not surprised the park and people really don't seem to follow guidelines, but as you point out one can still do so on their own. The impact is lessened when others don't, but tis a risk you take. I will likely still go. Honestly, glad to hear people were respectful. That's all I ask. You do you, I'll leave ya be but leave me be. Glad that was the case!

 

I always heard of Cornball as an under the radar gem, glad it still holds up! I also hear near universally Lost Coaster is fun as hell despite, or due to?, its being a hot mess.

 

Great photos btw! The location and scenery has a real charm to it.

 

Thanks! Lost Coaster is definitely special because of how wrong it is.

 

Isn't there an empty ride pad thats on the lake by the swings? That could still keep the ride on the lake while still opening up space for a needed waterpark expansion

[Canobie Coaster]

None of the pads above the water were free. The new ride was being built in front of the Ferris Wheel and the empty pad is by the drop tower.

 

The last time I wast at Indiana Beach I was a kid and my family stayed in a cabin and that was back when Lost Coaster was still a dark ride and the curved drop over water was more towards the end. I probably rode that thing like 20 or 30 times that week we were there. I loved that thing and haven't rode it since the change.

 

How much theming did the old dark ride have?

[mikeykaise]

There were a few animatronic animals throughout the cave not a lot, and then the train ending with the bright light and the horn sounding.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ I'm glad the train made it onto the new one at least!

[Canobie Coaster]

Indiana Caverns

 

Corydon, Indiana sits halfway between Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World. I've actually stayed in this town in the past, but I was completely unaware Indiana Caverns even existed. That was until they added the Bat Chaser zipline coaster.

 

Now I personally consider this a roller coaster. While you ride in a harness similar to a traditional zipline, the downhill course has dips, turns, and helices like a roller coaster. The experience feels like a suspended coaster to me. I know not everyone will consider this a credit, but it feels like a roller coaster to me.

 

It looks like a coaster. It smells like a coaster.

And it rides like a coaster.

 

I believe it cost me roughly $13 per ride. There's no pay-one-price option; you buy individual rides on the Bat Chaser. Unlike the zipline coaster in Gatlinburg where you ride up a lift hill, you have to climb a 50 foot tower to ride Bat Chaser much like you do for a water slide.

 

I rode a few of these zipline coasters in Dubai, but Bat Chaser had a major disadvantage compared to those ones. While the ones in Dubai allowed you to get a running start, you are slowly pushed over the edge on Bat Chaser. So you really crawl until you hit that first helix.

 

By the end of the helix, you start swinging around a bit. You then round this giant turn, but it's too gradual to produce any wild swinging. After this turn, you've gained some decent speed, but you then hit the brakes...which are ironically the wildest part of the ride by far. When you hit the brakes, you start swinging around uncontrollably.

 

Ultimately, Bat Chaser is a unique experience, but it's not a particularly thrilling or exciting one due to the lack of speed. The only exciting part sadly enough is the brake run. 5 out of 1

 

Beyond Bat Chaser, Indiana Caverns has some escape rooms and as the name suggests, some cave tours. But I only stopped there for Bat Chaser on the way back to Kentucky Kingdom. I'd say Indiana Caverns is worth the pit stop if you've never been on a zipline coaster, but there are better versions out there in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area.

 

I can't believe Indiana Jones ripped the text off of this small place in Indiana. Or wait, maybe I have that backwards.

[mikeykaise]

Looks like fun, the best cave in southern Indiana is Squire Boone Caverns. It's been a long time since I've been there but if I remember right they have a pioneer village as well as a really nice cave.

[cfc]

Hmm, based on your video, I agree with you--an interesting experience, but that's about it.

[Canobie Coaster]

Looks like fun, the best cave in southern Indiana is Squire Boone Caverns. It's been a long time since I've been there but if I remember right they have a pioneer village as well as a really nice cave.

 

The only cave tour I've ever done is the one at Silver Dollar City and I really enjoyed it.

 

Hmm, based on your video, I agree with you--an interesting experience, but that's about it.

 

It's odd the brake run is the wildest part.

[Canobie Coaster]

Cedar Point

 

Cedar Point was a fundamentally different park for me to visit in 2020. Whenever I've visited Cedar Point in the past, I've always had Fast Lane and I've always made sure to avoid it on a weekend.

 

But this year, I could do neither of those things. Fast Lane was not being sold and the park had switched to weekend only operation by the time I visited the park. So I went into this visit knowing I wouldn't get a large quantity of rides. I just wanted high quality rides.

 

An entrance fit for a thrill park.

Cedar Point's skyline is so incredible that even a small subsection of it looks impressive on its own.

 

I arrived the night before and stayed at Hotel Breakers. Since I woke up well before the park opened at 11, I watched the sunset on the boardwalk and walked along the perimeter of the park. One area I didn't realize was public access before this visit was the road that went back to Magnum's turnaround, so I definitely made sure to take a stroll back there.

 

No better way to start a visit to Cedar Point!

I don't usually wake up for sunrise, but it worked out on this trip.

I never knew this was a public access road.

The time was 7:30 am. This was 3.5 hours before opening. Wicked Twister was already testing.

GateKeeper looks absolutely massive from the front of the park even though it's not even one of the park's 5-6 tallest coasters.

Check out that clearance!

 

I was on the fence whether or not to stay at Breakers. It seemed as pricey as usual, but in 2020 there was no early entry. However, there was one major benefit for resort guests; they were the only ones who could use the Magnum gate this year. This gave me a major advantage to ride Steel Vengeance.

 

Before my visit, I was on the fence whether it made sense to get all the access passes first or to guarantee a ride on Steel Vengeance. I went with the latter and it worked out incredibly well. The gates opened around 10:30, roughly a half hour before opening, and I was among the first riders on Steel Vengeance since it opened shortly before the posted opening time.

 

I don't miss Mean Streak one bit.

 

Steel Vengeance is still my favorite steel coaster. The ride is relentless and seemingly never-ending. It starts with one of the more underrated drops out there and ever subsequent hill gives some incredible ejector airtime and all four inversions give wonderful hangtime. The sheer length of this coaster and the power of the airtime makes it one of the most enjoyable endurance tests in the world. 10 out of 10

 

You could say this coaster has a mean streak.

 

After my ride on Steel Vengeance, I made a loop to get the access passes. I decided to forego the Steel Vengeance one initially since the queue for the access pass stretched back to the Gemini midway. Instead, I got ones for Maverick (12-1), Millennium Force (1-2), and Top Thrill Dragster (2-3) with hardly any wait. I then doubled back to Steel Vengeance and there were still a few access passes left, so I got one for 3-4.

 

I figured the standby queue wouldn't possibly be open for Steel Vengeance, but much to my amazement it was. So I got two additional rides on this monstrous steel coaster before the access passes started, waiting no more than 15 minutes for either ride. I know the access passes are a bit controversial, but if I can ride Steel Vengeance in a standby line 3 times in an hour, sign me up!

 

A lot of people seem to brush over Vengeance's drop, but that really is an amazing drop.

 

I then redeemed my Maverick access pass and had to wait just over an hour. I got hit by two length cleaning cycles on Maverick combined with the ride's woefully low capacity. But at least I had the first group of access passes. When I waited, the queue started in the enclosed portion. Later in the day, the queue spilled out onto the midway and was estimated to be in excess of 2 hours!

 

I don't seem to love Maverick as much as most enthusiasts, but I still really love this coaster. It's a fast-paced jack-of-all-trades with an amazing first drop, some awesome ejector airtime, some snappy Stengel dives, some decent inversions, and an awesome launch. 9 out of 10

 

The corkscrews are arguably the worst part of the ride and they're still decent.

 

Up next was Millennium Force, which also had a return line that took roughly an hour. This was another return line that reached 2 hours later in the day. While most rides at Cedar Point were doing first-come, first-served seating, Millennium Force was allowing up to three groups to wait for the front row. So I made darn sure to take advantage of the shortest station wait I've ever seen for the original giga coaster's front row.

 

Millennium Force is unequivocally a front row ride for me. That is where you need to sit to fully appreciate this coaster's speed. Outside of the epic first drop and extremely forceful overbank, no one element on Millennium Force stands out. Rather, it just feels like one continuous element as your rocket around Millennium Island, through the tunnels, and past the queue line. 10 out of 10

 

I know people jokingly call this coaster Millennium Forceless, but that first overbank causes me to greyout like the first turn on Intimidator 305.

Millennium may not have the airtime of Expedition GeForce or SFNE's Superman, but it does offer some solid airtime.

 

Top Thrill Dragster had a very short return time, as I got on the ride in less than 10 minutes. And I know I got very lucky. The ride had lots of fits later in the day and a much longer return time, presumably when everyone flooded the ride to redeem their access passes after it had been closed during their windows.

 

I was unable to get the front row which was a bummer, but I gained a new appreciation for Top Thrill Dragster's drop in the back row. I don't remember it having the airtime that it provided on past visits. And per usual, the launch took my breath away. There's something about staring at a 420 foot tower that always gets me amped up. 9 out of 10

 

Still haven't gotten a rollback. Maybe one day.

 

I then redeemed my Steel Vengeance access pass and had another modest wait that took roughly 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, the access pass line for the 3:30 distribution was again stretched back to the Gemini midway. I was ever so grateful I didn't have to wait in that line since I suspect not everyone would get one.

 

4 rides on Steel Vengeance without Fast Lane alone made the day a success.

 

At this point, you may be wondering about the rides that weren't on access passes. Well, most of those rides had insane queue lines. All the B&Ms had waits in the 90-120 minute range. And even rides that I've never seen with a queue had crazy waits. Pipe Scream, Gemini, Blue Streak, and Cedar Creek Mine Ride also had hour waits.

 

But the one non-access pass ride I could not skip was Magnum XL-200. I rode this one in the late afternoon and only had to wait 45 minutes, which I thought was more than fair. I ended up with the back row and Magnum did its usual. The first half had some breathtaking views; the turnaround tried to kill me; and the return leg offered some of the strongest ejector airtime of any coaster.

 

Magnum may not be a glass smooth experience like most hyper coasters, but the ride's unrefined nature gives it character. 8.5 out of 10

 

Magnum's start looks profiled correctly.

But the triangular airtime hills look like engineering mistakes and I love them for that.

 

By the end of the day, I realized I had never set foot in the front half of the park. And that didn't really bother me given the circumstances. I got at least one ride on the major Intamins plus multiple rides on Steel Vengeance.

 

However, I made sure to exit out the front of the park and return to Breakers via the Midway so I could at least see the front half of the park on my way out.

 

Millennium Force is such an icon.

I love the solid colored LED lights Cedar Fair puts on a lot of their coasters.

I actually enjoy Valravn, but not enough to wait 2 hours for it.

 

I can't really recommend Cedar Point for newcomers in 2020. There is absolutely no way to do everything in one day unless you were lucky enough to buy Fast Lane before the pandemic. However, if you want to marathon one ride, it's very possible to get at least one guaranteed ride with the access passes and ride it before the first return time.

[xVicesAndVirtues]

Great report! You got far luckier than I did when I went last weekend with the access passes. We didn't stay on-site (we rented a house on Airbnb that was about 3/4 of a mile from the causeway), so we had to run with the masses to get the access passes and by the time we got to Steel Vengeance, they had already shut the queue to standby.

 

The access pass lines for Steel Vengeance are insane and it was exactly the same when I was there, all the way back to Gemini. A ride op at Millennium Force told us that Steel Vengeance has the least number of access passes available of any of the coasters. Seeing as we got the very last 3 access passes for Maverick for the 3pm-4pm return time slot with less than 1/3 as many people in line there, I don't see how people toward the back of the line got any.

 

Maverick was the same when we were there, it was pretty much constantly a posted 2-hour line and was backed up right to or just outside the entrance. Oddly, Millennium Force only once had a line in the first set of switchbacks when we were there, and countless other times when we walked by it was only halfway up the ramp. It's posted wait time never went beyond 30 minutes.

 

One thing I'll give the park credit for is the fact that Top Thrill Dragster was up and running almost 100% of the time while we were there and only went down for wind and rain. I've never, ever had a visit to Cedar Point with it running so consistently and it was the only thing we got 3 rides on over the course of the weekend.

[grsupercity]

Nice report. Sounds like you got lucky and got to get some good rides in!

[RCjunkie]

Nice trip report, thanks for sharing. If you could guarantee me four rides on Steel Vengeance without Fast Pass on a weekend I would have went. Good to see you had some fortune and things went your way for line queues.

[Zand]

To be honest, Cedar Point kinda sounded miserable and I'm glad I skipped that trip this year. I understand Steel Vengeance and Maverick having long lines but just can't imagine being there with rides like the Mine Train and Magnum having a 1+ hr line.

 

Based on the TRs I've read from a lot of places, I feel like I hit a home run with hitting Hershey and Knoebels.

[AmyUD06]

In their defense, CP was much more tolerable earlier in the year on weekdays. I had a much more enjoyable time at CP during my two trips this summer (Mon-Wed in July and Sun-Tues in August) than I did at Hershey on a Tuesday in August.

 

Honestly going now should be looked at like going during a normal October Saturday - things are going to be painful.

[Zand]

In their defense, CP was much more tolerable earlier in the year on weekdays. I had a much more enjoyable time at CP during my two trips this summer (Mon-Wed in July and Sun-Tues in August) than I did at Hershey on a Tuesday in August.

 

Honestly going now should be looked at like going during a normal October Saturday - things are going to be painful.

 

You were at Hershey the same day I was (I also went back the next day) and I thought it went really well. Candymonium got the Epcot effect early and late but had no line midday. Never waited more than 15-20 minutes for anything else (didn't bother with Laff Trakk or Cupfusion though) and never had to deal with fastpasses or return lines or any of that craziness. I mean why wait 30 minutes for a return pass to wait 90 minutes for Steel Vengeance when you can wait 5 minutes for Skyrush?

 

Glad you got to CP on some good days though. If I thought I had a chance at a good day I'd go but based on this TR plus the many TRs recently in the CP thread it sounds like absolute hell. Gonna try GADV in October and that will probably totally suck too, but its a much shorter trip and I go there enough anyway.

[AmyUD06]

I guess we just have different tolerances for things. I had FTU at Hershey and didn't wait more than 10-15 minutes for any ride that I can recall (except the Lazy River LOL), but I definitely bypassed some 30-60 minute waits for Great Bear and Fahrenheit, and much fewer people were respecting social distancing markers than at CP. It seemed like there were a lot more people at Hershey than at CP overall. And their waterpark was a disaster, which probably soured me on the day to be honest.

[Zand]

I guess we just have different tolerances for things. I had FTU at Hershey and didn't wait more than 10-15 minutes for any ride that I can recall (except the Lazy River LOL), but I definitely bypassed some 30-60 minute waits for Great Bear and Fahrenheit, and much fewer people were respecting social distancing markers than at CP. It seemed like there were a lot more people at Hershey than at CP overall. And their waterpark was a disaster, which probably soured me on the day to be honest.

 

I think the waterpark was the difference for us. Couldn't have paid me to go in there. But yes that was the one negative is that social distancing was almost non-existent. Like I've said, the signs on the ground marking 6 feet of distance may as well have said "15 guests between each sign" because that's what was happening and no one enforced it at all.

[Canobie Coaster]

Great report! You got far luckier than I did when I went last weekend with the access passes. We didn't stay on-site (we rented a house on Airbnb that was about 3/4 of a mile from the causeway), so we had to run with the masses to get the access passes and by the time we got to Steel Vengeance, they had already shut the queue to standby.

 

The access pass lines for Steel Vengeance are insane and it was exactly the same when I was there, all the way back to Gemini. A ride op at Millennium Force told us that Steel Vengeance has the least number of access passes available of any of the coasters. Seeing as we got the very last 3 access passes for Maverick for the 3pm-4pm return time slot with less than 1/3 as many people in line there, I don't see how people toward the back of the line got any.

 

Maverick was the same when we were there, it was pretty much constantly a posted 2-hour line and was backed up right to or just outside the entrance. Oddly, Millennium Force only once had a line in the first set of switchbacks when we were there, and countless other times when we walked by it was only halfway up the ramp. It's posted wait time never went beyond 30 minutes.

 

One thing I'll give the park credit for is the fact that Top Thrill Dragster was up and running almost 100% of the time while we were there and only went down for wind and rain. I've never, ever had a visit to Cedar Point with it running so consistently and it was the only thing we got 3 rides on over the course of the weekend.

 

Thanks! I specifically visited on a Friday over a Saturday hoping it would help with access passes and it seems like it did.

 

Nice report. Sounds like you got lucky and got to get some good rides in!

 

Thanks! My goal was at least one ride on each of my favorites so the bonus Steel Vengeance rides were gravy.

 

Nice trip report, thanks for sharing. If you could guarantee me four rides on Steel Vengeance without Fast Pass on a weekend I would have went. Good to see you had some fortune and things went your way for line queues.

 

Thanks! Based on the expectations I entered with, I was content with the rides I experienced.

 

To be honest, Cedar Point kinda sounded miserable and I'm glad I skipped that trip this year. I understand Steel Vengeance and Maverick having long lines but just can't imagine being there with rides like the Mine Train and Magnum having a 1+ hr line.

 

Based on the TRs I've read from a lot of places, I feel like I hit a home run with hitting Hershey and Knoebels.

 

As i mentioned, Cedar Point is probably not the place for a first timer in 2020, but it's not bad if you're content with one lap on your favorites as part of another trip.

 

In their defense, CP was much more tolerable earlier in the year on weekdays. I had a much more enjoyable time at CP during my two trips this summer (Mon-Wed in July and Sun-Tues in August) than I did at Hershey on a Tuesday in August.

 

Honestly going now should be looked at like going during a normal October Saturday - things are going to be painful.

 

The original plan was to visit on a Wednesday and Thursday until Cedar Point changed their hours. So Friday was picked as the lesser of evils.

 

In their defense, CP was much more tolerable earlier in the year on weekdays. I had a much more enjoyable time at CP during my two trips this summer (Mon-Wed in July and Sun-Tues in August) than I did at Hershey on a Tuesday in August.

 

Honestly going now should be looked at like going during a normal October Saturday - things are going to be painful.

 

You were at Hershey the same day I was (I also went back the next day) and I thought it went really well. Candymonium got the Epcot effect early and late but had no line midday. Never waited more than 15-20 minutes for anything else (didn't bother with Laff Trakk or Cupfusion though) and never had to deal with fastpasses or return lines or any of that craziness. I mean why wait 30 minutes for a return pass to wait 90 minutes for Steel Vengeance when you can wait 5 minutes for Skyrush?

 

Glad you got to CP on some good days though. If I thought I had a chance at a good day I'd go but based on this TR plus the many TRs recently in the CP thread it sounds like absolute hell. Gonna try GADV in October and that will probably totally suck too, but its a much shorter trip and I go there enough anyway.

 

At least Great Adventure offers Flash Pass if you want to avoid the queues. One of the worst parts about Cedar Point this year is that there is zero way to avoid the queues unless you pre-bought Fast Lane.

[CenturyFlyer]

My experience with waits on an August weekday:

 

Maverick was 30 minutes.

Millennium Force was a walk-on.

TTD was 20 minutes.

Steel Vengeance was an hour at most.

Non-access pass coasters were all 15-25 minutes.

 

I guess that I just lucked out... anyhow, thanks for the report! I'm glad that you still had a fun time given the circumstances.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Interesting that Steel Vengeance's wait was the worst for you when it was the fastest for me. Guess it just shows how random it is!

[Canobie Coaster]

Knoebels

 

I was a bit nervous to visit Knoebels in 2020. One of the best aspects of this park has always been their lightning fast operations and I feared those would suffer significantly. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

 

The cleaning policies were fairly inconsistent ride-to-ride. Some flats like the StratosFear drop tower seemed to wipe seats down between every cycle. Others like the Skooters were periodically shut down for cleaning. Others like the Phoenix and Twister did not go down as far as I could tell.

 

The park was skipping rows between parties on Twister and Phoenix, and unfortunately you could not wait for or request a specific row, but the park was still dispatching these rides in less than 30 seconds.

 

Still one of the best parks in the world for how unique it is.

 

Knoebels was very forthcoming on their website which rides would be closed in advance of my visits. This included several flats plus two of their coasters. Impulse was awaiting a new train and I did see it testing on my third visit. And Flying Turns was in the midst of retracking the end of the ride.

 

Italian Trapeze was closed, but that seems to be the norm in past years too.

KSA sounds more pleasant than TSA.

Flying Turns wasn't the least bit rough, but in typical Knoebels fashion they pre-emptively started retracking it anyway.

I missed Impulse by a week, but I have ridden it in past visits. It's a fun ride, but I far prefer the park's woodies.

Kozmo's Kurves was open for all those kiddie coaster fans out there.

 

Most of my visits were spent riding Phoenix. This is still one of my favorite coasters anywhere. The restraints (or lack thereof) completely make the experience. There's something magical having no seatbelt and being launched into the buzz bars. The airtime on the finale looks cartoonish as you see basically everyone on the train being forced to stand up from the strength of the airtime.

 

The first three hills don't do too much if you aren't in the front or back car, but the airtime is truly world-class from the 4th hill onwards. And it's extremely reridable because of how crazy the airtime is and how smooth the coaster rides. And for 2020, Phoenix got some pluses in a brand new station and an extended queue line. 10 out of 10

 

I love the new station!

And with the extended queue, the line spilling out onto the midway should be a thing of the past.

If you want the best pictures of Phoenix, I strongly recommend the Gasoline Alley antique cars.

And if there's no one behind you, they let you stop on the track to wait for Phoenix.

Just look at that airtime!

 

Twister is the perfect compliment to Phoenix. Twister has a few airtime pops, particularly on the first turnaround and finale, but the coaster really is about the laterals. And Twister delivers those in droves. And the ride is running as smooth as ever this year, which is a testament to how well Knoebels maintains this woodie. Twister has a GCI-like layout with the PTC trains and we saw how well the early GCIs aged that ran the PTCs. 8 out of 10

You can get some excellent angles of Twister from the campground.

I prefer airtime, but I still love Twister for how well it does laterals.

Take the tunnel!

 

One of the biggest changes for me in 2020 was only riding the Flyer once or twice per visit, as I've stopped snapping them to respect the park's tightened stance against snapping. In my first visit, I noticed the ride operator chiding anyone who snapped. And on my second visit, a fellow enthusiast working Phoenix warned me the park's official stance is that snapping is not allowed.

 

I have fond memories hurtling uncontrollably towards the trees and scaring onlookers, but even when I use all my willpower to resist snapping, these are still some of the best flying skooters out there because of the long cycle and the fast speed they're operated. 9 out of 10

 

Even off-duty operators at Knoebels enjoy watching the aerobatics display on the Flyer.

 

But I could go all-out on the Skooter bumper cars though. I think I slightly prefer the ones at Coney Island for the dance club atmosphere and overpowered employee car, but the ones at Knoebels are undoubtedly the hardest hitting bumper cars I've ever experienced. And the locals take no mercy on this ride. 10 out of 10

 

After working from home a lot over the past few months, it felt nice to get behind the wheel again.

 

I was unsure if Knoebels would have the rings going on the Grand Carousel, but the ride still had its signature feature. One plus for 2020 was that there is now a separate queue for the outside horses, which I hope they keep for future years since it was nice not getting into a mad dash for the outside horses. 10 out of 10

 

The rings were as plentiful as the hand sanitizer stands around the park.

 

I also made sure to ride the Scenic Skyway a few times. While I lost the Compounce Mountain Sky Ride at one of my home parks, Knoebels offers a very similar sky ride that also travels up a heavily wooded mountain. And the views of the park coming back down are spectacular.

 

If only more parks had sky rides up a mountain.

The proper sequel to Mr. Twister.

 

The Giant Flume was like playing Russian Roulette. In my first visit, I got drenched. Since Fascination opened late, I think the locals decided to drop their coins on the geysers at the Flume. I got hit by three geysers. On my second visit, I came off bone dry. But in general, this is one of the best traditional flumes thanks to its wooded setting and nice drops. 9 out of 10

 

The geyser of doom.

 

There were also several other flats I rode in the course of my visits. One of my favorites is Power Surge because the one at Knoebels is one of the few I've seen that still has a rotating base. I also enjoy how Satellite since it's the only roll-o-plane I've ridden that spins horizontally, offering some crazy laterals.

 

While I prefer Chance Zippers, it's nice not having to find a partner to ride this.

This section of Satellite is wild. If you ride alone, you're tossed side to side like a ragdoll.

The Northeast has a ton of indoor scramblers, so Knoebels does something different by putting a himalaya indoors.

 

It also wouldn't be a Knoebels visit without awesome fair food. I was only able to have the legendary Roast Beef Stand pierogies once since it was closed on my later visits, but I was able to have Cesari's pizza in every visit. And I finally tried deep fried alligator, which tasted sort of like chicken nuggets with a bit of a spicy kick.

 

Glad I tried them, but I'll probably stick to pierogis and pizza.

 

2020 may be the first year I visited Knoebels more than Six Flags New England. The circumstances why that happened are less than ideal, but I definitely consider myself lucky to have Knoebels within driving distance. I love this park...

 

But not as much as someone loves this ride.